GLOBAL SLAVERY INDEX

1. Context

2. What is Modern Slavery?

• According to the Index, "Modern slavery" refers to the situation of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuses of power.
• Modern slavery is an umbrella term and includes a whole variety of abuses such as forced labor, forced marriage, debt bondage, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, slavery-like practices, forced or servile marriage, and the sale and exploitation of children.
• The schematic provides a broad framework of what all modern slavery covers.
• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations also resolve to end modern slavery.
• Target 8.7 of the SDGs states: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.

3. What is the Global Slavery Index?

• The index presents a global picture of modern slavery. It is constructed by Walk Free, a human rights organization, and is based on data provided by the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, which in turn, is produced by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Walk Free, and International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
• This is the fifth edition of the Global slavery index and is based on the 2022 estimates.
• However, the initial estimates are regional and to arrive at country-wise estimates, the index uses several representative surveys.

4. What are the country-wise findings?

• There are three sets of key findings. The first looks at the prevalence of modern slavery.
• The prevalence refers to the incidence of modern slavery per 1000 population. On this count, the following 10 countries are the worst offenders: North Korea, Eritrea, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Afghanistan, and Kuwait.
• These countries share some political, social, and economic characteristics, including limited protections for civil liberties and human rights, states the index.
• Following are the countries with the lowest prevalence: Switzerland, Norway, Germany,  Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland, Japan, and Finland.
• However apart from prevalence the index also calculates the countries hosting the maximum number of people living in modern slavery. Here the list is as follows: India, China, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey, Bangladesh, and the United States.
• Collectively, these countries account for nearly two in every three people living in modern slavery and over half the world's population. Notably, six are G20 nations: India, China, Russia, Indonesia, Turkey, and the US, points out of the index.

5. Why is the finding of this index contested?

5.1 Pattanaik points out several reasons for her disagreement with the index:

• Definition of modern slavery: There is no internationally agreed definition for modern slavery, unlike trafficking in persons which does have a defined definition.
• Calculation and estimation concerns: The estimation of the number of people experiencing modern slavery is based on a country's "risk score," which overlaps with factors used to determine a country's development status. This can lead to biased rankings, such as Europe being considered the region least vulnerable to modern slavery and Africa being the most vulnerable.
• Contradictory statistics and qualitative analysis: Some statistics presented in the index contradict the qualitative analysis within the report, raising concerns about the reliability of the data. For example, the index highlights the UK as having the strongest government response to modern slavery, while further analysis indicates a decline in the overall response and potential violations of international law.
• Stigmatization and responsibility: Pattanaik argues that ranking countries in this way stigmatizes poorer countries and absolves richer countries of their responsibility in addressing issues like trafficking in persons.
• Challenges faced in countries like India: Despite the criticisms of the index, it remains evident that workers in countries like India face significant challenges, as seen during the Covid lockdown and the low female labor force participation rates, reflecting the poor status of women in terms of economic freedoms.